And the mayor's pick in the Poinsettia Bowl is...

SDSU receiver DeMarco Sampson greets the home crowd after an Aztecs victory this season. But who will the locals support at Qualcomm Stadium during the Poinsettia Bowl, and which sideline would Mayor Jerry Sanders stand on?
— James Gregg / San Diego Union-Tribune/Zuma Pre

SDSU receiver DeMarco Sampson greets the home crowd after an Aztecs victory this season. But who will the locals support at Qualcomm Stadium during the Poinsettia Bowl, and which sideline would Mayor Jerry Sanders stand on?
— James Gregg / San Diego Union-Tribune/Zuma Pre

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders was put in a tough position Wednesday, standing in front of a bunch of people eager to hear who he was rooting for in Thursday's Poinsettia Bowl. The game pits San Diego State University against the Navy, two staples of the city Sanders has governed since 2005.

Speculation about whether San Diego was truly a Navy town or an Aztecs town had already begun here, and Sanders knew he had to walk a fine line to avoid alienating the hordes on either side aboard the USS Midway, where players and coaches had gathered for a noon luncheon.

Then again, Sanders did go to SDSU.

Only his aides knew what he was going to tell the crowded room. Here are the talking points (penned by former U-T scribe Alex Roth) that Sanders had as he stood at the podium.

This is the toughest Poinsettia Bowl speech I’ve ever had to give. It’s impossible for me to decide which team to root for.

On the one hand, how could I root against SDSU? Only a year or two back, I myself was an SDSU student. There are members of my staff who bleed red and black. And as we all know, SDSU is having one of its best seasons in recent history.

In just two years, Coach Hoke has transformed a two-win team into an eight-win team with a bowl game on its calendar. They are an incredibly exciting bunch, with NFL-caliber receivers and freshman running back Ronnie Hillman, the second coming of Marshall Faulk.

Also, I need to mention President Weber, who has been such a huge advocate for collegiate athletics in general and the football program in particular. He is retiring at the end of this year, and it would be something special for the Aztecs to send him off with a Poinsettia Bowl victory.

On the other hand, how could I root against Navy?

San Diego wouldn’t be San Diego without the Navy. San Diego is the principal home port of the Pacific Fleet. You think Top Gun, Maverick, Goose and Iceman, you think San Diego.

Navy has appeared in two previous Poinsettia Bowls. Those games attracted the two largest crowds in Poinsettia Bowl history. This is a big game for the Midshipmen. If they win, it would be the first time in school history the team has won 10 games in consecutive years.

A win would also mean Navy’s senior class ties a 102-year-old school record for most wins in a four-year career. This is the same senior class that went 4-0 against Army, outscoring Army 120-23.

Plus, I can’t root against the Navy when it would mean getting on the wrong side of quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who has already announced his plans to run for president in 2040.

For all these reasons, I’m staying neutral in this one. Not even my family knows who I’ll be pulling for.

At about this point, Sanders put on an SDSU jacket and a red and black scarf and walked off stage.